Sewage ejector



Patented Aug. 28, 1945 UNITED Asrarii;s

N sEWAGE EJ'EcToRl l Y Charles 'Yeomana Hubbard Woods, Ill., assigner toYeoma'rfs Brothers Coniiay, a crpii'atn Application November 5,1949,serialNo. 509,149'v @claims This inventiony relates to improvements inap-l paratus such as usedffor handling sewage, and especially forlifting sewage frornfa receiver-to an outlet located ata higher level.thanlthe'free ceiver. One type of such device iis well known as a Shoneejector, or Shone system `"of of :sewage ejection. v I

In general, such a Shone system consists of -a suitable cast iron, orsheet metalta'nk-or pot having inlet and outlet .sewagepiping-:connected thereto, and a :means for delivering conipressed airIto the upper v.pprtion ofthe receiver when the llevel of `sewage:therein'lreaches a -predetermined height, whereupon thesewa'gewill'bepneumatically ejected. check Valves are provided in the inlet and outletlines to prevent .reverseflow :of .,SeWageftheren, and suitable controlsare provided so that, when the level of sewage inthe 'receiver'is'brought down to the desired low point,=fthesourc'e of compressed airwill be shut 01T andthe receiver vented Suitable. oneway or.

(01.10'3-248). i v a n l n the vinormal rolling. ofy fthe fship l:willnot objectionably alectthe operation -ofthe-apparatus; and in general,`itfisgtheA Vobjectief theinvention to pro. viderafsimple, efficient,durable, :and generally practicable s'teamelope'rated, sewage.ejeo'ting; -apparatus'onsystemfof Ithe/character indicated.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be `understoodbyreference-ltosthe following specification. and ,accompanying drawingVwhere-r in there is more,iol'.ilessediagrammatically illustr'atedeJVShon'eselt/.age :ejecting apparatus em bodyingavselected-formof theinvention." 1

. In the drawing, l1 is amore orlesszdiagrammatic side-elevation.;1U-ig.v 2. isasection on ztheline 2-e-2 of Eig. 1; 'Figi isxamore orless vdiagrammatic. illustration-of a Aportion of the lapparatus shownin /Fig.-.`1-, lout-on an enlarged scale and in section -to more.clearlyy disclose thev operation ofthe-structure.; `lligs. 4` and5;-are fragmentary so as to permit escape of the compressed *air theninl thereceiver, whereupon sewage vmay .againow into'the receiver. .l Y

In certain instances, where adequatesupplies of steam are 'availablepand` where a lsupply fo'f compressed air is not. readily Iavailableit is4desirable to .employ steamvv under pressure for ef fecting vejection ofthe sewage fromy the receiver, instead Aof compressed air.The-useofrsteamf in'- stead of -air is desirable,.ioriexamplegon-steampropelled ships which :are not necessarilysoralwaysequipped with a compressed air system.` l

When the Shone system. is. pneumatically Soperated, it is convenient tovemploy `pneumati'callyoperated valves for controllingtheadmission andexhaust of compressed air into and from thereceiver. The operation ofsuch valves by vrn'ean'sfof steam is not very desirable becausey ofconnlexieV ties introduced in Athe design fof the required valves andoperating mechanisms; and because-'of the required extra steam lines,`condensation losses, etc. Insomeinstanceait iis -feasibleoto employelectrically actuated or solenoid` valves for controlling the admissionand exhaust .voli-'steam'4 to the receiver, but in certain other.instances,

it is desirable -to avoid the use of electric power.

It is the object `of the present invention topro.

vide a steam-actuated ysewage ejecting apparatus,

or system, of the-character indicated; to provide;

simple but elicient vmeans for controllingthe lad*- mission of steam andthe exhaustthereof,tto-and from the receiver, eitheryelectricallyormechanically as maybepreferred; -toprovide anarrangeevment whereby, in the case of a ship installation,

, receivernadjaentthe periphery thereof and. its bottom -end `l5openfand spaced `froml the bottom I6 -of the receptacle `so that `sewage*flowingthrough Athe pipe Il and tting l2 may enter the side elevationscorresponding to a portion-of? Fig.

1, but respectively showing'modifled controlling arrangements;v y i The`sewage handling apparatus herein illustrated Aembodies a receptacleor-pot I,ll;which .is

completely closed-so as to be-iairetight. .A l'sewage inlet pipe-IIisconnected vthrough a T ltting l2v to. the upper end of aniangularlydisposedpipe I 3, which-passes: through thetopwall I4 of thereceiverfl 0. The pipe `|3 may haveits upper end welded to the top Mofthe tankso-asto be-rigid'ly held-in place, the weldingbeingucare'fully done so as to avoid any possible leakage from thereceiver I0 around the outside yof the ,pipe I3. A one-way or checkvalveIlis provided thesewage in- .y take pipe. Il, ,s'uchv'alve vbeingarranged to ,per-

mit the flow. of. sewage vfromthe .pipe lfl into the'receive'r, and toprevent rearward vflowfof sewage 'from' the receiver into thepipe "H,.As

indicated, va Vmanually operated. 'gate valve I8 is alsousually.provided in the inlet pipe vl I.

The sewage euuetier the receiver embodies Lthe pipe ia,- thever'tieaiiyvextending,portion of the `-iiitting i2, and apipe 'r9 Wincheiitendsiupward.

v 1y te the level .at which 'the sewage is te pedis- Icharged in amoreor Aless 'hrizontaldirectiom A A check vaivefz'u` is provided Vin 'thepipeline' |`9` to permit sewage to, travel upwardly insaid ,pipe

line, Ibutnot downwardly.` A manually ,operatedr gate valve -2| mayIalso :Ibe

l v.provided the pipe line II9, as is customary.

Steam at suitable pressure is delivered to the gradually rise, the airtrapped in the upper por- .its upper end arranged to co-operate with theupper portion of the receiver above the level of sewage receivedthereinby a pipe 22, which has its lower end threaded into a suitableboss formed on the top of the receiver. The upper end of the pipe 2:2 isconnected to a steam supply pipe 23. 5 A valve, in this instance, asolenoid valve 24 is provided in the steam line 23, said valve beingnormally. closedso as to preventthepassage of steam from the :supplypipe 23 intothe pipe 22 and the receiver l0. The steam' supply is"usually 10 at much higher pressure than is required or dee., sirablefor the sewage ejecting operation.

pressure-reducing valve (not shown) should,z;of'j Av.maden of brass, orother metal of suitable flexibility, the upper end of the bellows beingsoldered course, be provided in the steam )line ahead of I the valve 24,to reduce the pressure or 'the steam 1 5 conducted to the receiver l lto'the lower pressureH desired. Other devices, such as a pressure gauge,

a safety valve, a, strainer, andTa'man'u'allylcon#y I' trollable mainvalve (not shown) may, Ofcourse,

be provided in the steam lines, in accordance" with good engineeringpractice. The upper end ofthe pipe 22 also has an' iexhaust pipe `25connected thereto andv a normally'open'valve 26 is provided in theexhaust pipe 25 to control its communications-with the pipe 22 andreceiver l0. In this-instance, the valve26 is also solenoidoperated; Y

It will be seen that when? sewage enters the receiver, the level ofsewage in Ithe receiver will tion of the receiver being relieved orexhausted through the pipe 22 and the exhaust pipe 25. When the level of'sewage reaches a predetermined height in the receiver, the exhaustvalve 26 is closed and the steam valve24 is opened to permit steam underpressure to enter the upper portion of the receiver, whereby the sewagecontained therein will be forced out through the pipe I3, the checkvalve andthe discharge, or outlet pipe I9. When the level of sewagein-thetank is lowered to the desired extent, the valves-'24 and 26 arerestored to theirnormallyvclosed and norm-ally open positionsrespectively, whereby steam thenr trapped vin the receiver willberelieved through the exhaust' line 25, which may be connected to anysuitable vent or other outlet.

For controlling thevalves 24 and 26, itis pre-' ferred to employ afloat-actuated structure of strong but simple and durable character, andonewhich will operate freely 'and with but little or no powerless due tostuiiing boxes or similar friction-producing, means. In this instance;Athere is employed a suitable hollow oat mem! ber 2l'carried by the freeend of an arm 28, whichY is pivoted near itsupper' end as indicated at29 on a bracket 30. The bracket 30 dependsfrom. a. plate 3l which closesa suitably formed opening 32 in the top wall Vof thereceiven. said platebeing suitably fastened as represented in'Fig. 3. The arm 28 is in theform of a bell crank having a short arm extension 33 extending upwardlybeyond the pivot 29. jSaid arm 33 is connected by a pin and slot, orother suitable connection, to one end of a leverv 34, which is pivotedintermediateits ends, as indicated vat y35 ona bracket 36, which issuitably mounted'on the plate 3| As illustrated, the'lever`34 extendsupwardlyV through an opening 31 in theplate 3l, and has spaced arms of avfork -or clevis 38, which may be suitably pivotably mounted asindicated at 39 onv a bracket portion 40,V which* may be formedintegrally with the bracketv part 35. "Ihe forked arm 36 may beequipped' with-adjustable screws 4l and42 for regulating the operativeeffect of the rocking movement of the lever 34 on the arm 38. The saidarm 38 may also be extended horizontally by means of an arm 43 which maybe connected to suitable electric switch mechanism for controlling anelectric circuit to the solenoid valves 24 and 26. The switch mechanismis not herein illustrated since itis a commercially available'standardconstruction, the' details of which form'noA pai't of the presentinvention.

. lFor preventing the escape of-steam through the opening s1 in theplate si, there is provided Y asuitable bellows 44. The bellows 44 maybe to the platev v3l around the opening 37 therein, and the `Alower endbeing soldered to a closure plate 45 through which the arm 34 passes,and to which said arm is rigidly united by welding, brazing, or thelike. Any movement imparted to the lever 34 by the float actuated bellcrank 28g-33 will, of course, be accompanied by corresponding movementof the bellows 44. Said bellows,-because of its high degree offlexibility, oiers only a negligible resistance to the operatingmovement of the lever 34 and the iioat carrying arm 28, and hence iswell suited to the purpose indicated.

f As vshown in Fig. 1, the float arm 28 actuates electric switchmechanism housed in a box 45, which may be mounted on one side of ahousing 41 of the float actuated mechanism. A suitable source ofelectric power may be connected through the switch structure in thehousing 46 to electrical conductors 48, which are also con nected to thesolenoid Valves 24 and 26.

In order to prevent the steam under pressure delivered to the receiveri0 from the pipe 22 from boring into and mixing with the isewage in thel. receiver, with consequent condensation and pressure loss, there isprovided a baille 49 which extends horizontally between the dischargeend of the pipe 22 and the highest level to which sewage is permitted torise in the receiver l0. The baiile f 49 -may vbe xedly secured bywelding or otherwise, tothe. topoffthe. receiver. If` desired, the baile4S may be secured to a cover plate 50, which closes an access opening 5Iprovided in the top of thereceiver l0, so as to be removable with thecover plate. As shown in Fig. l, the baiile is requires that there be noelectrical circuits, the

arm 4370i the switch operating mechanism may, instead of being connectedto electrical switch mechanism, be connected by means of a link 52, to

an, arm53 of a snap action valve 54, l'provided in f theexhaust linepipe 25, instead of the solenoidoperated valve 26 (see Fig. 4). Asimilar snap actionvalve 55 is .provided in the steam supply line 23instead of the solenoid valve 24 and said valve 55, is'mechanicallyconnected to operate simultaneously with thel valve 54 by suitablemeans, such as arms 56 and 51,'and a connecting link 58.. The snapactingvalves 54 and 55 may be ofy anysuitable type, of which one or moreare l available 'on the market. Such valves generally comprise-a valvestem, which is connected to a` an armi-'is produced by somel externalmeans, -such as'vthe-link- 52.

In the arrangement shown in Fig,Y-4,-vvhen the' levelofl sewage risesto'the predetermined height l in the receiver, the' link 52 will haveimparted valve 54.v The valve `55 will be simultaneouslyopened-through-the connections described. Thus, it Will be-SeeI'hatsteam Will be admitted'to'the receiver to cause `ejection of the' sewagecontent therein.l When the level of the-sewage reachesa` predeterminedlower level, the oa't mechanism will,vof course, impartdownwardmovementto the link 52 tothereb-y reverselyoperate the valves54" and-553 so as totrestore them to their normalpositions, tov permitsewage to be again delivered to the' receiver.

-Itwillibe apparent that thelostmotionbetvveenI the upper end-of` thelever`34'and the forked end of the'arim-38`will permitthe-floa'tarm'28fto swing upwardly and downwardly' through certain arcs withoutactually imparting'fmovement to-theoperating elements 38, 43,v etc. Theextent ofl suchv lost motion is, of cour`se,-ad-justabl'e by'adjusti'ngthe abutment screws 4|- and* 42, and such adjustment should, of course,be properly relatedlto the lo'st motion encounteredin thesnap'a`cting-valvesv of the kind -above referred to, when such valvesareemployed insteadI of electic-switches-ancl solenoid-operated-valves.

Another forml of non-electrical controlling means is shown in Fig. 5,wherein' diaphragm valves 59 and 60 are provided in the steamiandlexhaustlines 23a-nd25-respectively. These diaphragm valves replace thesolenoid valves 24 and 26 respectively of the Figr 1 arrangement.

The link 52 is connected to a small valve 6| provided in a small sizedsteam line 62, 63, which extends from the steam supply pipe 23 ahead ofthe valve 59 to the diaphragm chambers of the valves 59 and 60.

When the level of sewage reaches the predetermined height in thereceiver, the link 52 operates the valve 6I to permit steam to enter thediaphragm chambers of the valves 59 and 6U. The valve 59 is therebyopened and the valve B0 closed so that steam pressure will be built upin the receiver l to eject the sewage in the manner a1- ready explained.

When the sewage level in the receiver falls to the required point, thevalve 6| will again be closed. A bleeder 64 connects the diaphragmchambers of the valves 59 and 60 with the exhaust pipe and effectsrelief of the steam pressure in said diaphragm chambers whereby, whenthe valve 6| is closed, the valves 59 and 60 will be permitted to returnto their normal closed and open positions respectively. The diaphragmValve 59 is, of course, a normally closed valve, and the valve 60, anormally open valve.

The bleeder 64 will occasion a slight and negligible loss of steam whenthe valve 6l is opened. This loss may be avoided, if desired, byemploying a three-way valve in place of the valve 6| Such a three-wayvalve may be arranged to control the would be'relieved through thevthree-way valve-to the yexhaust line.. In that/arrangement, `thebleeder64 wouldfnot be employed.

rThe `bleeder arrangement shown* in Fig;v 5 appears fmoredesirable-'than' the lalternate threeway valve arrangement explained, inthat'it is somewhateasier to obtain lfrom the float-actuatedIl link 512,the smaller amount of power and travell required for opening and closingthe'simpleopen and shut valve 6 l AWhenl'the sewage ejector yisinstalledon board a ship, the rockingV motion to wvliichfthe'shipisoftensubjected is, of course, imparted to the sewageejector apparatus,and may produce such turbulence or wave motion on the surface of thesewage in the ejector, as to cause objectionable side thrusts on thevalve controlling float arm. To reduce such turbulence vwithin thesewage receiver, andto ,thereby preventthe indicated, posz siblydamaging, side thrusts o'n the' float arm mechanism, a yverticallydisposed partition "60', extending transversely of the receiver `may beprovided. The partition Ior baflie 66' should 'be of such verticaldimension that space remains between' its'upper edge 6l', and the top ofthe receiven-and between its lower edge 62', and the bottom of-thereceiver, so that there will be free communication between the receiverportions on opposite sides of the baiile. As indicated iii-Fig. 2,-thebaflie` is preferably located somewhatoffcenter, so asto providearelatively narrowcom-I part-ment 'inik which fthe float arm l operates.

siveturbulenceyor sudden changing of the sewage"le`vel in the float armcompartment of the receiver-,and it prevents the applicationof ex-lcessive sidewise directed forces on the-'Heat arm mechanism `so that thenormal operativeness thereof will` more certainly be :maintained withoutextra attention.

In some installations, for safety or emergency purposes, it may bedesirable to provide manually controllable valved pipe lines by-passingthe automatically controlled valves 24 and 26, or their equivalents, asshown in Figs. 4 and 5. In such an installation, a pipe line 65 (Fig. l)`lay-passing the valve 24 would extend from the steam line 23 ahead ofthe valve 24, to the pipe 22, and such by-pass pipe would be providedwith a manually adjustable valve 66. Similarly, a pipe line l61by-passing the valve 26 would be connected to the exhaust pipe251between the valve 26 and the outlet end of the exhaust line, and tothe pipe 22. A manually adjustable valve 68 would be provided in thepipe 61. By-passes of this character would permit manual control ofdiaphragm valves of the Fig. 5 arrangement if This arrangement is quiteeffective to prevent exceslevels in the receiver.

erateithe apparatus. The air may, ifl desired; be delivered directlyfrom thecompressor to the ejector, and starting and stoppingy of the`corn-l pressor'may be automatically effected by suitable meansresponsive to the high and low sewage For example, the :floatcontrolledelectrical switch meansshown-fn Fig. .1 for controlling the solenoidvalves may be connected in control circuits for the compressor.

Changes in the described structure may be made without departing fromthe principles of construction typified by the described apparatus, andsuch modified constructions are .considered to be within the scope ofthe following claims:

I claim:

l. Sewage handling apparatus comprising a sewage receiver having inletand outlet sewage piping connected thereto, a conduit connected to thetop of said receiver for delivering steam under pressure into thereceiver portion above the highest level of sewage received therein, anda baie mounted in said receiver intermediate the delivery end of saidconduit and said highest sewage level, said baffle serving to preventthe steam from penetrating and mixing with said sewage content.

2. Sewage handling apparatus comprising -a sewage receiver having inletand outlet sewage piping connected thereto,A a conduit connected to thetop of said receiver for delivering steam under pressure into thereceiver portion. above the highest level of sewage received therein,and a baflie mounted in said receiverintermediate the delivery end ofsaid conduit and said highest COVeI'.

' 3. Sewage 'handling apparatus comprising a sewage receiver havinginlet and outlet sewage piping connectedthereto, means for deliveringpressure gas `tothe ,upper portion of said receiver, for effectingdischarge of the sewage therein and forrelieving lthe gas pressure insaid receiver to permit Adelivery of sewage to the receiver, valves forcontrolling the ldelivery of gas to and the exhaust thereof fromv saidreceiver, means in said receiver and acted upon by the sewagethereinincident to changes in its level, -for actuating said valvesLandbaie means in said receiver for reducing the, extent; of sewage levelchanges in the receiver incidentuto rocking of the receiveraboutahorizontal axis, as occurs, for example, when the receiver isinstalled on a boat.

4. lSewagel handling apparatus comprising a sewagereceiver having inletand outlet sewage pipingconnected thereto,y means for deliveringpressure gas to the upper portion of said receiver, for effectingdischarge of the sewage therein and for relieving the gas pressure insaid receiver to permit delivery of sewage to the receiver, valves forvcontrolling the `delivery of gas to and the exhaust thereof-l from saidreceiver, means in said receiver and acted upon by the sewage thereinyincident to changes in its level, for actu-

